Understanding money
Peter Dutton
The vast majority of Australians believe they have the skills necessary to manage their day-to-day money tasks, according to a new report released by the Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton.
Titled Financial Literacy — Australians understanding money, the report surveyed 7,500 Australians aged 12 to 75 on issues dealing with money management, budgeting, investment and money protection.
Dutton said that the overall results were encouraging and that it was important for Australians to continually work towards better understanding.
“Where people are less confident is on those tasks they have to do less frequently, such as investing and planning for retirement,” Dutton said.
“This makes sense, as the more exposure and practice a person has in dealing with money issues, the more confident they will become. Encouragingly, most people expressed a genuine interest in learning more about those areas which were less familiar to them.”
According to Dutton, the report will also highlight a number of negative beliefs that people hold on financial services that can stop them from achieving their financial goals.
“It is hoped that by understanding the extent to which people hold such negative beliefs that financial literacy services can be better tailored to help people in the future,” he said.
Dutton has also launched a database of financial literacy programs called Financial Literacy Resources Australia.
The database provides a comprehensive listing of financial literacy programs that are provided by the government, education, industry, banking, finance and community organisations.
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